West Virginia Democrat. [volume] (Charles Town, W. Va.) 1885-1890, 1887-09-09

occurred to mar fraternal feeling but
on the last day it was evident thai
the purpose was TO make use OF the
occasion to obtain some republican
advantage. The first thing was 8
refusal to march under an emblem
of the National Executive. In the
afternoon there wss series OF
bloody-shirt speeches by Gov. For
aker and Beaver at their hotel
In the evening, calling to pay my re
spects, hearing that they were to he
serenaded / babe them good evening
but they insisted ! should remain
In response to calls we all made
speeches and got into a political de-
bate. As political speeches had
practically been proclaimed the or
der of the day, 1 concluded that the
republicans should not have the field
exclusively to themselves. Many
democrats of the Grand Army have
already signified an intention to
leave the organization and it is very
certain that the effort made TO carry
the democratic soldiers into the re-
publican camp by means of this or
ganization will be a failure.
In 1861 the people of West Va
were divided in sentiment. While
a majority were loyal to Federal au'
thority yet numerous and intiuen'
tial minority were in full sympathy
with the South. Every county had
troops in both armies. Many of the
most prosperous and respected bus
mess men in Wheeling were Confed
crate soldiers and no one now in
quires in that city which opinion
his nelghbor held 25 years ago. II
is the same in every part of the
State. We look to the future not tC
the past. Gov. Wilson comes of 6
family that was against secession
but in answer to the serenade it was
very natural and it was entirely
proper that he should have reflected
that divided sentiment which exist
ed in 1861 and which exists to-day
West Virginians who were in the
Union army find pleasure in re
membering the brave acts of theil
neighbors who were on the Confed
crate side. And strange as it may
seem it always gratifies Confeder
ate soldier to discover and become
acquainted with "the Yankee who
fired the shot that wounded him.
This is strange but none the less
true. Ever since his manhood, Will
son has been in constant persona
contact with popular feeling thai
is the outcome of this peculiar sen
timent among our people, and it wa:
natural and it was right that he
should give expression to it. L
Gov. Foraker was endowed with thai
elevated tone of character which
becomes the executive o. 4 grcat
State, he would have sprung to hi:
feet the moment that Wilson wa:
interrupted and denounced any sug
gestion that, on such an occasion, ;
Confederate soldier should be called
a traitor. Gov. Foraker would have
done so were he not typical pot
house politician. AS for poor ole
| Gibson, he is, we understand, rattle
I Drained, superficial, and mere
/ charlatan with a loud voice, whC
says or does anything calculated t
make ignorance applaud:-the ut
! terances of such a man may for tn,
moment tickle a crowd, but no on
will regard what he says.
We remember the late war rs W,
remember an unfortunate separation
I between man and wife, now recon
ciled and loving, having arount
them by the Preside of a happ.
home the children born before anC
the children born after their recon
Citation. The right feeling portion
of the community will not tolerate
an attempt to stir up new tamil.
quarrel to estrange those now recon
ciled; the right feeling part of tn
community will not tolerate an ef
fort to destroy love, content ant
happiness in order to substitute
hate, discord and misery. Schemin:
partizans like Foraker, Sherman an
Blaine have entirely mistaken tn
genius of our American people.
LOCAL OPTION VS.. PROHIBITION